The SiXing Pendant
by Kali Gargoyle
Summary: I’ll be frank, this is a sorta self insert, and I apologize. But being sent on a quest in a world where warring people are throwing boulders and fireballs just sounds like a great time.
1. Chapter One: Entrance

**The SiXing Penda**nt

By Kali Gargoyle

An Avatar: The Last Airbender fanfic

This wasn't meant to be some epic piece to be taken seriously. It was simply a plot bunny that needed to be put out of its misery. Again, apologies.

* * *

Chapter One: Entrance 

Another oh-so boring day. Just like every other day. So Jessie did what she always did whenever she lost the motivation to do anything actually productive. She hit the Internet. Checking messages would kill at least an hour, more if she took the time to reply to any of them.

Adding to her annoyance was the fact that there was nothing she was remotely interested in on TV at the moment. But that little button labeled "On Demand" saved her from boring background noise. They hadn't switched out the Avatar episodes yet, but at least these ones were good.

After several minutes of surfing, something struck Jessie as odd. Pulling her focus from the computer screen she quickly realized that the episode had stopped playing, and right in the middle, too. It looked like another data error, so she grabbed the remote to switch out to basic channels.

But the remote didn't work either. The buttons lit up, but there was no reaction from the television. "Great, is the entire cable system out?"

As she walked over to take a closer look, Jessie noticed that the television screen looked a little strange. Like it was... moving? Was it a new holding pattern?

Jessie brought her finger up to tap the screen, only to have the glass ripple in response. "What the hell?"

She started to back away as the blackness pulled away from the TV and enveloped her...

* * *

In what seemed like the blink of an eye, Jessie found herself standing in the middle of a darkened forest. Fireflies zoomed around her, but it wasn't enough light to see by. "Where am I?" 

_"You are in my home, girl."_

Jessie turned around. "Who's there? What am I doing here?"

_"I have brought you here to perform a task for me."_

Jessie continued to look around for the speaker, but could see no one. "Show yourself!"

The shadows of the forest ebbed and flowed around her feet. She tried to jump away but it was all around her.

_"Now you see me. The task I have for you is very important."_ The shadows swirled and formed a window. Jessie looked closely at the image coming into focus, the scene looked familiar, but she couldn't place it... until an arrow-headed bison flew into the image then back out again. She gasped.

"I need you to go to this world and collect some things for me." 

Jessie gathered herself. "What do you need me for? Why don't you get someone from that world? Or go get it yourself!"

The shadows flowed around her again, brushing against her skin, leaving behind an icy feeling. _"I am forbidden from entering that world. And from influencing its people."_

"Wow, that's not suspicious at all."

The shadow crossed over her face, causing her to cough. _"Do this simple task and I will send you home."_

Jessie coughed into her hand. She really didn't have that much choice, did she? This _could_ all be a dream, in which case it didn't matter what she chose, but if it was somehow real... "Fine, what do I do?"

From out of the shadows appeared a silver necklace. _"This will guide you. It reacts to the presence of the artifacts I need you to find."_

The necklace was placed around her neck, and Jessie examined it. It looked like a key, except instead of teeth there was a small white sphere.

The shadows flowed again and she felt like she'd been dropped into ice water.

* * *

Just as suddenly as it had come, the feeling left her. When she looked up to snap at her mysterious captor again she realized she was once again somewhere else. Another forest, yes, but it was brighter, and there were sounds of life coming from beyond the trees. 

Jessie grabbed the pendant around her neck and looked down to see that her clothes had changed. Her jeans and tank top had changed into simple clothes in brown and green, styled in the fashion of this world.

A strand of blonde hair fell into her eyes and she pushed it back under the hood. You'd think that if her clothes could be changed to fit this world, her hair could, too. But there was no sense worrying about that. The pendant began to hum, growing warm in her hand, and glowing, too.

"Might as well get this over with." Jessie turned and the glow dimmed. When she turned back it brightened, then dimmed again. "Okay, I'll assume that the brighter glow means that's the right direction. This won't be so hard."

No sooner had she uttered those words than thunder crashed over head and she found herself standing under a sheet of rain.

"Of course."


	2. Chapter Two: The Fortuneteller

The SiXing Pendant

Chapter Two: The Fortuneteller

* * *

Although it had stopped raining awhile ago, Jessie was still dripping when she arrived at the village gateway. During the long walk she realized that she must be in the Earth Kingdom, but that really didn't narrow anything down. She wondered if she'd run into anyone she knew, then mentally kicked herself for such a stupid thought. Sure, she may know about the people here, but she didn't really _know_ them, and they certainly didn't know her. No, the best thing to do was just get this over with as soon as possible. 

It was a nice village, though, it didn't look like it had been a casualty of the war. White buildings with green roofs and gold trim. It looked like it should have a lot of people living there, but she couldn't see anyone. She hoped she hadn't stumbled into a situation where people were hiding from something.

_The fewer people I have to deal with, the better._ Jessie looked down at her pendant. If she understood correctly, one of the artifacts should be in this town. Hopefully, she wouldn't have to search through every building for it.

A cheer arose from somewhere off to her right. As she turned that way, the pendant glowed bright. "Of course."

The reason that she hadn't run into anyone was because they were all here in the town square. People of all ages, dressed in a rainbow of clothing were all standing around a covered stage in the very center of the square. On that stage was a gray-haired woman in gold robes. She looked very familiar...

"The village will not be destroyed by the volcano this year!"

"No..." Jessie looked up at the large volcano that towered over the village. "Bad, very bad..." She grabbed the charm around her neck. "Where is it? I have to get out of here!" The sphere brightened and Jessie hurried off in that direction, weaving amongst the dispersing crowd.

* * *

She should have been surprised to see that circular door, but she wasn't. As she walked in she certainly hoped that Aunt Wu wasn't as skilled as she implied. Certainly a girl from another world would set off a few psychic warning bells. 

No man in black, no Meng, and Aunt Wu didn't come out either. Jessie removed her boots and took a seat. At the very least she could get a little rest where she wasn't likely to run into anyone.

She looked at the tapestries hanging on the wall. They were very lovely, and she wished she could read the calligraphy. It suddenly struck her that she, indeed, could not read the writing on the paintings. "Aw man..." That was probably going to cause problems. Hopefully it wouldn't become an issue, seeing as how she had her own guide. She lifted up the necklace to examine it further.

It was like a key, the flat handle carved with the symbols of the four elements. On the other side there was writing, which of course, she couldn't read. The sphere was really interesting, though. About the size of a basic marble, solid white, and glowing very brightly. The thing she was supposed to find must be very close.

She sighed and hoped that this wasn't going to be the pattern for every one of these things. Being a part of the adventures seemed like a fun fantasy but she really didn't have the abilities necessary for this. Why couldn't that spirit choose someone else? Someone who could maybe defend themselves if trouble cropped up. Even just someone who looked like they could pass for a native in this world.

Jessie snapped her head up when she heard voices coming from the back room, and they sounded like they were getting closer. She stuffed her pendant down the neck of her shirt and pulled her hood a little lower. She stood up just as Katara and Aunt Wu came into the waiting room.

"And you'll be fine as long as you've got a scarf. Bye bye now."

"Okay, okay, but, one more thing," Katara asked as she was being pushed out the door.

"All right, what is it?" Aunt Wu replied in an irritated voice.

"Should I eat a mango or a papaya for breakfast tomorrow?"

"Papaya!" Aunt Wu snapped, slamming the door in Katara's face. The old Fortuneteller sighed and turned, and was slightly startled to find someone standing there. "Hello there, would you like a reading?"

Jessie could tell from the tired expression on the woman's face that she was all fortuned-out. "No, actually, I'm looking for something, and I think it may be in your possession."

Aunt Wu studied the girl carefully. She was dressed like a common traveler, and aside from the way her hood obscured her face, there was nothing suspicious about her. "What is it you're looking for, dear?"

"You're the fortuneteller, you tell me." Jessie replied before she could stop herself. "Actually, I'm not sure exactly what I'm looking for." She pulled her necklace from her shirt. "But it has something to do with this."

Aunt Wu reached out for the pendant, pulling Jessie a little closer. "Ah, a quest. I might be able to help, could I see your palm?"

Jessie reclaimed her pendant. "I'd rather you didn't. I just have to go where this thing points. I just want to have a look around."

Aunt Wu raised an eyebrow. She got such a strange feeling from this girl, she had really hoped to do a reading on her. Based on the few lines she'd managed to get a look at, it would certainly be interesting. "Perhaps if I knew a little more..."

"That would get you involved in this, you know."

The fortuneteller blinked. How odd. Usually people weren't this evasive towards having their fortunes read. Some didn't want it read, others were nonbelievers, but this girl... did she have something to hide? But the fortuneteller sensed no ill will, certainly if she meant harm the girl would've snuck in or lied. "If you do anything, I will know," Aunt Wu warned in an ominous voice.

"I'm sure you will." Jessie stepped out of the waiting room and after briefly checking her pendant, took the hall to the left.

* * *

She didn't think this place was this big. And confusing. At one point she almost threw the stupid necklace out the window until she realized that the weird readings meant that whatever it was she was looking for was upstairs. 

"Shh… we don't want anyone to hear us."

Jessie stopped in the hallway. The voices continued, and although she could barely make them out, she knew what they were saying.

_This is so weird._ She tiptoed past the doorway. Now she really had to hurry, there was very little time.

Fortunately, she found what she was looking for in a storage room at the end of the hall. It was a semi-circle plate of silver, carved with element symbols and more writing. Set in the center was a green gem, about the same size as the white one on her necklace, and it glowed in response.

Jessie picked up the artifact and placed it in the small bag hanging near her belt. Now that she had it, all she had to do was get out of this town as soon as possible.

She jogged down the hallway and nearly ran over Meng in the process. "Sorry!"

The fortuneteller's assistant glared up at her. "What are you doing up here?"

Jessie glared back. "None of your business." She moved past the girl on her way out.

The pigtailed girl yelled after her. "I'm going to tell Aunt Wu!"

Jessie hurried down the stairs. She wasn't worried about Aunt Wu, she had permission. Sort of. But time was running out. She had to pause briefly to reclaim her boots, which gave Aunt Wu enough time to find her. "Did you find what you were looking for?"

"Yes, I did. Thank you."

"What's your hurry? Are you so eager to get back to your journey? Perhaps a reading..."

Jessie fastened the ties on her boots. "I'm just not looking forward to being here when that volcano erupts."

Aunt Wu huffed. "I predicted just today that we wouldn't be destroyed by the volcano."

Jessie opened the door. "Yeah, well, those are two different things, aren't they?"

Then she departed, leaving Aunt Wu to think over the words, but she didn't have time because right at that moment Sokka came running up to her...

* * *

Jessie ran as fast as she could, putting as much distance between the volcano and herself as possible. Sure, she knew that Aang would save the town, but when she heard the explosion her heart sped up all the same. She watched as the river of red-hot molten rock moved towards the village. 

She clenched her fists, holding her breath, waiting for that moment...

Aang's display of airbending, the sight of a wall of lava being shoved aside was breathtaking, even from this distance. It stood out brightly against the darkened sky. She stood and watched the flames for quite awhile, until they died down. But her time of quiet reflection was interrupted by the humming of her pendant, letting her know that it was time to get moving again.


	3. Chapter Three: Bato of the Water Tribe

The SiXing Pendant

Chapter Three: Bato of the Water Tribe

* * *

It was a nice day, actually. A few clouds, but they were white and the sky was a bright blue. A walk through the woods on a day like this is something one would do to relax on the weekend after working hard all week. But when the walk was a part of the work... 

Jessie plopped down under a tree just off the path. Looking back, she wished she'd gone against her gut feeling of avoiding Aang and the others. Traveling on the back of a flying bison was looking better with every step she had to take.

She placed her hand inside her bag and pulled out a waterskin. The bag was both a blessing and an annoyance. It seemed like a simple bag any traveler would carry, hiding under her cloak with the strap across her chest, it really wasn't striking at all. The only thing weird about it was that it was empty. Yet food, water, and other essentials appeared whenever she needed them.

It sounds cool, but it was constantly threatening her sense of logic. She wondered how it did what it did, but when she got nowhere she gave up. Then she tried making it create luxury items, modern technology from her world, and money. Nothing. And then the things she put in there would disappear. The first amulet she found had done this, nearly sending her into a panic. Fortunately, it reappeared and she took to storing it in the folds of her belt. If these stupid things were her ticket home, she was going to keep very good track of them.

Jessie tiled her head back. Only one-fourth of her task was completed and she was already exhausted. She once again wondered just what that stupid spirit was thinking when it chose her for this task. Maybe it had a bet on how long it would take her to break, or maybe just die. At this rate, that was a more likely outcome than her gathering all these things.

Taking a deep breath, she pulled herself back to her feet, dusted herself off, and continued on her way.

* * *

Standing before the set of doors, Jessie was once again struck with the feeling that she should know this place. Wood doors, blue inset on the pillars, a bell hanging over the top. She really needed to pay more attention to those details. 

"Can we help you traveler?"

Jessie turned to see two women in white and gold robes. She quickly hid the glowing pendant in her clenched fist. "I was looking for... a place to rest?" she asked hopefully. She realized where she'd seen them, they were sisters at the abbey in _Bato of the Water Tribe_. She needed to get inside, and asking nicely seemed to work with the people of this world. Well, so far.

"Of course," the older woman smiled. "Our abbey is always open to those in need." She placed a hand on Jessie's back, guiding her to the doors, which now stood open for them.

Jessie looked around at the large courtyard. It was amazing, seeing this place up close. She could see the sisters mixing perfume, the river trough, the well. The well! It was still covered, so did that mean the fight had not occurred yet? Certainly damage could not be repaired that fast.

The misplaced girl suddenly realized that the sisters had been talking to her. "I'm sorry," she apologized, her cheeks growing hot.

They just laughed. "You're obviously very tired. We'll show you to a spare room."

Jessie let herself be led along, and even stayed in her room for a few minutes before poking her head out the door to see if anyone was around. Hopefully she could get through this before she ended up in over her head in something she didn't want to be in.

She was so focused on her pendant that she almost bumped into Sokka, who didn't even bother to look at her as he stormed away. _What's his problem?_ She thought to herself a second before she realized. She glanced out the window and saw Appa, with Aang and Katara unloading blue bundles from his saddle. Jessie frowned, a part of her realized that this meant the fight was in the near future, but she also felt sorry for these people she felt very close to.

_But you aren't close to them! You've never even met them!_ But she her heart still tightened when she looked at Aang, sitting on Appa's head, watching his friends pack their belongings. _I wish I could let them know..._ but she also knew things would work out in the end for them.

Jessie watched from a shadowed doorway as first Bato and the Water Tribe siblings left, and then Aang and Momo on Appa. A sigh escaped her lips and she turned her attention back to her task.

This place was turning out to be much bigger than the Aunt Wu's place, with many rooms. She wasn't even sure if she was in the right wing, and then an idea struck her.

If she was quick about it, she could check the courtyard, and from the center of the abbey she could get a better idea of which part of the building the artifact was in. She stood in the center, glancing to make sure she wasn't attracting too much attention, and checked the pendant. _North side, okay._

No sooner had she crossed the threshold to reenter the inner halls then a crash, the sound of a wooden door splintering off its hinges, filled the courtyard, sending many of the sisters, and Jessie, running and ducking for cover.

Jessie dared look out, watching in awe as the large creature sniffed at the ground. Riding the creature was of course its mistress, the bounty hunter June, whip in hand. Behind her, looking very happy, was Uncle Iroh, and behind him...

Her breath caught in her throat. He sat there, annoyed that they'd yet to catch up to their prey, the animal's quick moments causing his dark ponytail to whip around his head. Suddenly, the beast turned and exited the way it came.

Jessie suddenly snapped out of her light trance and chuckled at herself. _I am such a fangirl..._

She started down the hall, slowly. A part of her brain was screaming at her to hurry up and find the artifact and leave before they returned. But still... her steps were slow, and she spent more time admiring the woodwork than was at all necessary even if she had no task.

* * *

Just as Jessie curled her fingers around the blue-jeweled piece of silver, a second crash invaded the silence. But instead of running away, as she had in the fortuneteller's village, she ran straight for the noise. She stopped at the doorway, of course, this was stupid enough, there was no need to be completely idiotic. Hiding behind the doorframe, she could see almost the entire fight, but her focus was on a single individual. 

Prince Zuko stood proud and tall, prepared to battle the Avatar. Flames appeared from his clenched fist, and without any other warning he attacked. Going blow for blow with the young airbender, Jessie silently cheered him on. It was even more amazing watching bending in person. They attacked and dodged, neither landing a blow until they both attacked and their elements reacted explosively, leaving a cloud of thick black smoke in their wake.

Jessie ducked back inside as the smoke rolled through, covering her nose and mouth for protection. Once it cleared she returned to the doorway, looking desperately for Zuko, but she couldn't see him. The battle between June's Shirshu and Appa raged on in the courtyard, causing considerable damage to the abbey.

A burst of flame drew her attention back to the battle between Zuko and Aang, now taking place on a rooftop. Jessie could barely see them, catching only glimpses of air and fire until Zuko slid from the roof. He landed on his feet, then quickly moved out of the path of the Shirshu as it tried to get Aang.

Jessie couldn't believe it when Zuko ran right past the door she was watching from. He didn't glance at her, he probably didn't notice her at all, but she felt the breeze as he ran past. She caught the scent of fire and smoke and squealed involuntarily. She was so glad no one was paying attention to her.

The battle between the Prince and the Avatar continued around the well. Aang tried to grab Katara's necklace while Zuko was simply trying to hit the agile monk. Jessie watched as Aang dove headfirst into the well. She held her breath as Zuko sent a blast down into the abyss only to receive a geyser of water from the depths.

Jessie had to cover her mouth with both hands to keep silent. As bad as it was, she loved this part so much. She felt so bad for Zuko, but it was things like this that made him appealing. That, and him getting back to his feet even after all that, still determined.

When Aang became cornered by both Zuko and the Shirshu, Jessie glanced away for a moment. Long enough to check on the others, now pushing the perfume vats and spilling them at Katara's feet.

In almost the time of a single breath, the entire battle turned, and the Fire Nation invaders were paralyzed on the ground, the Shirshu gone. Jessie stayed in the shadows, watching as Aang offered to help clean up. But in the end, it was decided they should leave before the Shirshu's toxins wore off and Zuko was on their heels again.

Once the group flew off, Jessie stepped away from her hiding place. Taking a deep breath she walked slowly over to where the prince fell, and where he was still lying. She took in the details, the way the gold trim shined, the patterns decorating each panel of his armor, even the true yellow color of his eyes.

She stood just above his head, looking down at him. She could now see the true texture of his scar. She found it fascinating, although she had to admit that if she didn't know his story she'd probably think it was unattractive. But right now she had the urge to reach out the commit the feel to memory as well.

"What are you looking at?"

Jessie moved her gaze to his lovely eyes, which were glaring at her. If he could move, she was sure he'd ignore her, possibly even push her aside as if she was nothing but trash someone had thrown in his path.

But he was so beautiful when he was angry.

Jessie got down on one knee. "Please, don't ask me to explain this."

She quickly leaned down and pressed her lips to his. Just a few seconds, then she quickly got back to her feet. Zuko stared up at her with a blank and confused expression, which caused her to smile briefly before she ran off for the abbey's front gate.

* * *

The setting sun cast the beach into shades of orange and pink, and she just sat there and watched as the bright circle sank lower and lower on the horizon until even the faintest afterglow disappeared. 

Jessie sighed, unable to force the smile from her face. She had to laugh at herself, it was such a fangirl thing to do, and she was very glad that so few people saw it, and she'd never see any of them again.

She brought her hands up to her cheeks. She was so embarrassed she was still blushing. She can't believe she actually did that, but there was no way she could pass up that opportunity. And what did that say about her? Well, that she was a fangirl, but she already knew that.

She checked to make sure that she had both artifacts. It was now too dark to examine them properly, it would have to wait until morning, as would the rest of her journey.


	4. Chapter Four: The Deserter

The SiXing Pendant

Chapter Four: The Deserter

* * *

The sun was quickly setting. Jessie had decent night vision, but it was still very unwise to travel at night. She'd have to stop soon. 

But as she looked down at the pendant in her hands, the bright glow and humming told her that the next piece was close by. If she could get it before settling down for the night, she'd be one step closer and have less to worry about.

As she was looking for a good, out-of-the-way place to camp down, she came across a bulletin board in the middle of the road. There was a beautifully painted poster of a dragon flying over a Fire Nation building. She recognized it as the advertisement for the "Fire Days Festival" even though she couldn't read a single word. She must be close to that town.

Walking around to the other side she spotted the wanted posters. Only three of them, it looked like Aang and the others had already been through. Jessie's eyes drifted down to the lower left, to the portrait of a blue mask smiling back. _The Blue Spirit..._

Quickly looking to make sure that no one was around, she reached out and pulled the parchment from the board. Admiring it for a few seconds, she then rolled it up and stored it in her bag. Smiling to herself, she suddenly felt a second wind and glanced down at her pendant.

* * *

It seemed like every inhabitant of the town was out enjoying the festival. Jessie usually disliked large groups, but she supposed that it was good enough cover. No one would notice one extra girl amongst the festival goers, making her less suspicious than if she was sneaking around in dark, empty alleys. 

However, she did wish that she could take the time to enjoy the festivities, it looked like a lot of fun, even with the propaganda. She'd always been fascinated by fire, the light and warmth, and how it almost seemed alive, with the added awe from its destructive ability. And maybe if this wasn't all destined to be thrown into chaos by the Avatar, she could take a little extra time and enjoy herself.

Jessie sighed and consulted her pendant.

"It's so pretty!"

Jessie quickly hid the pendant away in her palm on reflex. She looked down to see two little Fire Nation girls staring at her, their masks pushed up on top of their heads. Jessie took a step back, not prepared for an encounter with natives.

"I like your necklace," one of the little girls said.

Jessie smiled awkwardly. "Thank you."

"What's it made of?" asked the second girl, reaching up and pulling on Jessie's arm, trying the reach the pendant.

Not wanting to cause a scene, Jessie quickly knelt down. "I don't know. I... got it as a gift, and they never told me."

The bolder girl poked at the glowing white ball. "How does it glow like that? And what's that sound?"

"Well..."

"Dai! Mani!" A voice called out from the crowd. The two girls turned around. One of them replied, "Coming, Mom!" and they ran off to meet an older woman a few yards away.

Jessie got back to her feet. So much for not drawing attention to herself. She decided she'd wasted enough time, and needed to get this over with before she caught the eye of anyone else. It was fortunate that the girls were too focused on her pendant to notice that she looked so different from them. That fear always popped up whenever she spoke with someone, that they'd notice an accent or odd feature, or worse, her blond hair.

Fortunately, she didn't have to do any breaking and entering this time. The third piece was sitting right out in the open as part of a display. The problem was getting it. There were a lot of people around, all admiring the display of Fire Nation artwork and crafts. If she just ran up and grabbed it, there was no way she'd be able to get away. She could wait until the crowd thinned, but then she might have to worry about the booth being taken down.

"Hey! That kid's the Avatar!"

Jessie turned towards the direction of the shout, as did everyone else. She could just barely see the figures on stage, but she was very aware of the guards moving towards them, parting the crowd. This distraction was just what she needed. Just as the guards climbed onto the stage it exploded in a cloud of smoke.

Jessie snapped into action. While everyone was focused on the scene on stage, Jessie backed up and picked up the artifact. Funny, she'd been expecting a little more excitement from the crowd, seeing as how their festival was just interrupted by the Avatar. Still, when she turned to leave, no one seemed to notice, and that's exactly what she wanted.

"Hey, stop! Thief!"

Jessie glanced over her shoulder, hoping that maybe they were talking about someone else, or at least that security was too busy chasing the Avatar to notice her. No such luck, a man who was probably the owner of the booth was pointing straight at her, and two armed guards were following his directions.

She took off at a run. The alleyways were deserted, and although the streets between were not, she easily dodged the patrons. But she was just running to get away, turning when she thought it would make them lose her trail, and she was a stranger here. And sure enough, she ended up at a dead end.

She faced the guards, who were just catching up to her. Their spears were pointed at her chest, their faces warning her not to move. "Come quietly," one of them told her.

Jessie started to panic. She couldn't allow herself to be arrested. She also couldn't fight off two armed guards. If she just tried to run, it was unlikely that she would be able to get past them, at least not without injury. And getting killed wasn't going to get her home, or at least, she didn't think so, but she wasn't about to test the theory.

"Raise your hands!"

Jessie held the artifact closer to her chest. She'd just gone through all that trouble, she couldn't just give it up, she'd never get it back! "Look, I can explain all this."

"You can do so at the guard station."

They advanced on her. She pressed her back against the wall. There had to be a way out of this. As the soldiers stepped closer, Jessie threw her arms forward for protection. "Stay away from me!"

A blast of bright yellow flames seemed to erupt from nowhere. The guards were taken by surprise and dropped their weapons, turning their faces away from the flames. One of their sleeves caught on fire and they both hurried to extinguish it.

Jessie shook herself out of shock. While the two men were busy with scorched fabric, she dodged past them and out of the alley. The whole festival seemed to erupt with cheers, and she made it out of the town without further incident.

After what felt like hours, she collapsed against a tree, gasping for air, she felt like her lungs were on fire. She'd sprinted from the town, afraid that someone would come after her, and now that she had stopped, her adrenaline began to ebb and she fell to her knees.

Sitting back against the trunk, she struggled to catch her breath. That was close, too close for comfort. This world was much more entertaining from the other side of the television screen. But, she'd gotten her prize.

The bright red gem shone as if lit from within. There was something about it, but she was too tired to even think right now...

* * *

The morning sun fell over her eyes and she tried to move out of it before she was even fully awake. She moaned as her brain struggled with consciousness. Jessie never was a morning person, she abhorred them. She checked to make sure she had her bag and all the artifacts, she hadn't lost anything during her escape. 

Some fruit juice to settle her stomach and she felt clear headed enough to take a look at her newest acquisition.

Like the others, it was a semi-circle of silver set with a circular stone, this one bright red. She recognized the symbol for Firebending, but not any of the characters. As she scrutinized the writings for anything that stuck her as familiar, she remembered last night. Where had that fire come from? Was she a firebender now? Why? And could she do it again?

Jessie got to her feet, pausing briefly when she got light headed, and moved into what she thought could pass as a Firebending stance. Okay, so it was a yoga pose, but it maybe it was good enough. She took several deep breaths, feeling the energy move through her body, at least this part was easy, like meditation. When she found her center and had a good flow of energy, she twisted at the waist, pulling her left arm back and throwing a rather pathetic right punch, forcing the energy down her arm.

Nothing.

The would-be firebender sighed. So much for that idea. So then, what happened last night? She went over the events in her mind. She got the medallion, then had to run from the guards, she was chased to the dead end, then...

She glanced down at the silver plate sitting in the grass. Did that have something to do with it? She picked it up and looked it over. It couldn't hurt to try. She got back into the stance from before and repeated the exercise. She clutched the amulet in her right hand, focusing on the element of Fire, and punched the air in front of her.

Flames erupted from her hand. She was so shocked that she stumbled backwards, mouth agape. She stared down at the artifact, the red gem now glowing brightly. She was beginning to understand why the spirit was interested in these.

As an experiment, she threw a few more punches, and even some weak kicks, but found that whatever magic this was only worked for the hand holding the amulet.

Sitting down, Jessie took out the other artifacts. One had a green gem while the other was blue. If red was for fire, did that mean these ones were earth and water?

She clenched the green-gemmed amulet in her fingers and took a deep breath. Focusing on what she wanted to do, she thrust her arm forward. A small patch of grass moved upwards about a foot. She lowered her arm and it returned to normal. Guess that answered that question.

She set the artifacts together on the ground. They formed three-fourths of a circle, obviously she needed one more piece, the one for Air. But it made her think, what did that spirit need these _for_?


	5. Chapter Five: The Northern Air Temple

The SiXing Pendant

Chapter Five: The Northern Air Temple

* * *

"You've got to be kidding me." 

Jessie looked up from the foot of the mountain. Was she really supposed to climb that thing? The pendant had led her here, she'd even traveled around some of the perimeter to make sure the fourth piece wasn't just on the other side. But the more she tried to prove otherwise, the more the pendant insisted that the artifact was somewhere at the top of this mountain.

And she could guess where: the Air Temple. If she remembered correctly, that was the next episode. She groaned. Climbing up a very tall mountain was not something that struck her as a desirable activity. She doubted it was in her capabilities to even do so, she didn't even climb trees. Maybe there was another way up.

People lived up there, and they had to get up there somehow. The Fire Nation soldiers even get up, so there must be a way. Even if there was a walkable path, that was still not a hike she looked forward to. But she had to find it. Maybe she could just wait around and follow the Fire Nation up.

She rolled her eyes at the mere thought. No, this was going to have to be done the hard way.

"Excuse me?"

Jessie turned on her heel, once again hiding her pendant in her shirt. There was a group of people standing on the path, looking at her. They had a cart with them, it looked like they'd been gathering supplies.

The oldest in the group, a short woman in her early forties, stepped closer. "Are you a refugee, dear?"

Jessie bit her lip before answering, "Yes, I am."

The woman smiled. "You poor dear, why don't you come with us. We've built a home where the Fire Nation can't reach, you're welcome to come with us."

Jessie thought this over. _Were they from the Air Temple? Did they know an easy way up?_ "I don't have anywhere else to go..." which was basically the truth.

"Then come along!" The woman held her hand out. "My name is Etsu."

Jessie stepped up to the group. "I'm... Je."

Etsu raised an eyebrow but smiled. "Well, then, come along." And the group continued on. Jessie followed, and when they started up the mountain, she sighed in relief. That was certainly a lot easier than she'd first thought. This one might actually be easy.

* * *

It was still a bit of a hike, a lot more exercise than she was used to, for sure, but still, she was here. It was just as breathtaking as she remembered, although some of that may have been due to the high altitude. 

"Yes, lovely, isn't it?" Etsu said when she noticed Jessie staring. "Wait until you see inside."

Visions of large pipes and catwalks filled her mind, obscuring and sometimes destroying sacred works of art. She followed behind slowly, frowning when reality was even more disturbing than her memory. It sent a cold, numb feeling through her.

"Amazing, isn't it?"

"Um..."

Fortunately, she was saved from answering when a boy in a wheelchair approached them. "Teo!" Etsu greeted the boy. "We have a new member for our community."

"Hi," Teo greeted Jessie with a quick glance in her direction. "My dad needs these supplies immediately. The Fire Nation is coming soon."

"The Fire Nation? But how did they-"

"We'll explain later, just get the stuff to my dad."

Etsu asked no more questions, she and a couple other strong men hurried the cart out of the room. Not knowing what to do, Jessie just stood there.

Teo now turned and smiled at her. "Sorry, you showed up at a bad time. This is the first time this has happened since we settled here. It's always kept us safe before now."

"It's just my luck I suppose."

"We don't get many visitors. I'm Teo, what's your name?"

"Je," Jessie replied after a second. She'd almost forgotten the name she'd told Etsu.

"Nice to meet you, Je. There isn't really time to show you around right now."

"I'll just stay out of the way," Jessie said. "Not that I'm hesitant to defend my new home," she added quickly. "But like you said, I don't know my way around."

"Yeah, some of this stuff takes time to get used to," Teo said, looking around. "But it makes life easier."

"I guess aesthetics comes later in the inventing process," Jessie replied before she could stop herself. "Sorry, I mean-"

"Nah, it's okay. Just stay inside and you'll be safe." Teo turned and shouted a few orders at the people just standing around and they left to prepare for the battle.

Jessie waited patiently for everyone to leave, but someone stayed behind. Just her luck, it was Aang himself. "You sounded upset that things looked like this," he said.

She had spent this entire adventure trying to avoid being seen by Aang, let alone speak with him, but now she was left with no choice. "I can tell it used to be very beautiful. I'm... kind of an artist."

Aang lowered his eyes. "Yeah, it was."

Jessie looked away. What do you say in situations like this? '_Yes, fictional cartoon character, I am aware of your past and I sympathize with you.'_ Instead, she opted for, "You'd better hurry, if you don't want it to get worse."

Aang looked up with a smile, yet his large gray eyes were full of fierce determination. "Right."

Jessie waited for several minutes after he left. She debated in her head. She could look for the artifact now, while everyone was distracted by the Fire Nation attack, or wait until it was over, when things calmed down and it was safer for her to explore.

Jessie pulled the pendant from her shirt. She hadn't wasted time before, why start now?

* * *

The sounds of the battle echoed through the temple, but still Jessie followed the glow of her pendant, confident that it would not reach her. It was a very large temple, she would have hated to have to search it all without a guide. 

She found the last artifact in a storage room with other airbender items. It looked like someone had just dumped them in there, as if there was no longer a place for them in the temple anymore. It was so sad, and probably one of the biggest reasons she didn't really like this episode. Progress should never be at the cost of things like this.

Jessie left the storage room and made her way down the tower to the main building. It was finally over, she had all the pieces. Now, what to do with them? How would the spirit know she'd succeeded?

As she pondered these questions and wondered about her next course of action the hall was shaken by an earthquake. No, not an earthquake, an explosion, Jessie corrected as she picked herself up from the stairs. She felt a twinge in her ankle, but it supported her weight so she continued on.

She looked straight forward as she continued, trying to avoid looking at the pipes coming through the walls, right through once-beautiful murals and mosaics. The damage was already done, but maybe she could give a few tips before leaving...

"There you are!"

Teo, Aang, Katara, and Sokka were waiting when she reached the central room. Teo looked a little worried. "Where'd you go?"

"I was looking for a bathroom," she lied quickly. "I take it you won."

"Yeah!" Sokka cheered, pumping his fist in the air. "They ran with their tails between their legs!" Katara and Aang looked just as pleased with themselves.

"What's that you've got?" Teo asked.

Jessie quickly hid the artifact away in her belt. She was stupid to just carry it around instead of hiding it immediately. She had been so preoccupied with her surroundings. "Nothing."

"It looks like it has an airbender symbol on it," Katara said, stepping towards her.

Jessie fought to remain calm. She pulled the artifact out of her belt, careful to hide as much of it behind her hand as she could. "No, it's similar, but it isn't-"

As she tried to pass the artifact around her back and into her "magic" bag, Aang caught her by surprise when he sped forward like a gust of wind and grabbed her arm. "That _is_ an airbending symbol. You stole that!"

Jessie pulled her arm out of the young Avatar's grasp. "Look it's not what you think."

"These people opened their home to you and you're stealing from them!" Aang yelled at her. "Stealing something sacred."

"You don't understand. I have to-"

"You don't have to do anything except hand that over," the young monk demanded, pointing his staff at her. The others moved to surround her. There weren't many options left...

"Fine." Jessie slowly raised the silver amulet, its orange gem catching the smallest bit of light, then thrust it forward.

The last thing Aang expected was to be hit with an airbending attack. He was thrown backwards into a wall, losing his grip on his staff. Jessie escaped through the gap and ran for the outside. It didn't occur to her until she spotted daylight that she didn't really have a way of getting off this mountain. If she went down the path they could get her with the gliders. The gliders!

She had the power of Air. She could control the glider as Aang could, with true flight. But she'd probably still end up in a dogfight with him. Maybe she could use the other amulets...

As she approached the exit, a figure suddenly blocked her way. Teo smiled, "You're new here, so you probably don't know about the shortcuts."

Jessie dug into her belt for the other artifacts. Glancing to check the color of the gem, she made a sweeping motion with her arm. The ground beneath Teo's chair raised up like a ramp and he rolled out of the way.

Jessie stopped on the balcony, looking for the gliders. There were still several people out, apparently cleaning up after the battle. In that brief second, Aang, Katara, and Sokka rejoined Teo and surrounded Jessie again. She took advantage of the standstill by pulling the others amulets out of her belt.

"How did you do that?" Aang demanded.

Jessie still had options. She could stop and try and explain things to the group, but they might not believe her, even if she left out the part about being from a different world. She could make up some other lie they might buy. She could also keep fighting.

She caught a flash of white out of the corner of her eye and moved her arm to protect herself out of reflex. The wave of snow was turned into solid ice. A second to think and Jessie changed the ice to water and sent to towards the waterbender, knocking her over. She tried to blanket the others with snow but they dodged. She'd lost the element of surprise.

Sokka charged her, and although she moved quickly he easily turned back and hooked his arms around hers, pinning them behind her back. He was too strong, and when she tried to pull away pain shot up her arm. Two of the artifacts fell to the ground, clattering against the stone.

Aang walked over and picked them up. "What are these? How could you bend air, water, and earth? Tell us!"

Jessie closed her eyes. No more options left. "All right. Let me go and I'll tell you everything."

"Let her go, Sokka."

"What?!? She'll just run again!"

Jessie turned her head as far towards the Water Tribe boy as she could. "Run where? You took my weapons." She dropped the other two pieces, hoping it would convince them to release her.

After a few seconds, Sokka let her go. Jessie straightened up, rubbing her shoulder. She noticed that they were all looking at her strangely. "What?"

Sokka pointed at her. "Your hair is gold."

Jessie's hands flew to her head. Her hood must have fallen off during her escape. "Oh, that." She looked over at Aang who's expression had changed from angry to curious, with a little suspicion mixed in there. "It's... going to be a complicated explanation."

* * *

An hour later they were all in one of the Air Temple's side rooms, sipping on tea while Jessie told her story. She neglected to say that the spirit who had kidnapped her had actually taken her from a different world, and Sokka still thought her hair made her look weird, but otherwise they seemed to believe her. 

"If we hadn't seen you bend like that, I probably wouldn't have believed it was possible," Aang said, looking over the Air artifact. Momo sat on his shoulder, trying to make a grab for the shining gem.

"And you never used bending before you got these things?" Katara asked, holding up the Water amulet.

"No, never. I discovered what they could do by accident. The spirit never told me what they were, or did. Now, I'm kinda suspicious about why it would want them."

"There's writing on them," Sokka said, examining the Earth amulet closely. The Fire amulet sat by itself on the floor. "But it doesn't make much sense, they seem to just be random words."

"It does look like they fit together," Jessie said, picking up the Fire artifact. The four of them took a few minutes trying to put the pieces together in the right order.

"Okay, it says something about magic, trying to create bending power for someone who didn't have the ability," Sokka read.

"Sounds like someone was a little power hungry, trying to create fake bending," Jessie replied. "That would be _really_ bad in the wrong hands." She sighed.

"What?" Katara asked, concern crossing her features.

"I have to give these to the spirit so I can get home. But... I don't want to be responsible for whatever it plans to do with them."

"You don't have to give them to the spirit. We can take you home on Appa!" Aang said.

Jessie shook her head. "It's not that easy. Just trust me when I say that the only way for me to get back home is the way I was brought here."

"Why don't you just stay here," Teo offered. "Really, we have plenty of room."

Jessie smiled weakly. "Nice offer, but in all honesty, I don't want to stay. My family and friends are there. All my things!" The thought of spending the rest of her life without Internet or indoor plumbing was not a happy one.

"Okay," Aang finally said. "We'll help you."

"We will?" Sokka questioned. He was still suspicious of her and her weird hair and her magic powers and her wild stories.

"Yes," the Avatar said, standing. "We're going to confront this spirit."


	6. Chapter Six: Exit

The SiXing Pendant

Chapter Six: Exit

* * *

Jessie glanced around nervously, fiddling with her pendant. She'd pushed herself through this quest with her only goal being to get back home. Now that she was finally going to, she found herself hesitant. This could go very, very badly, and if this did get out of control, there was nothing she could do to help at all. 

She felt something land softly on her arm; a hand. Aang looked up at her with that infectious optimism of his. "Don't worry, this'll work."

Jessie took a deep breath and forced a smile. That was easy for him to say, he faced challenges like this almost everyday.

The Avatar turned to his friends. "Okay, everyone else out."

Katara stepped forward. "Aang, are you sure about this? It's dangerous."

"Besides, we don't even know if she's telling the truth!" Sokka added, pointing at Jessie. She only glared in response. "For all we know this is a plan to attack you."

"I believe her, Sokka," Aang said. "And we need to try and help her."

"We don't have time, we have to get to the North Pole. What if-"

"Aang," Jessie suddenly spoke up. "If things get too dangerous, I want you to escape before it's too late."

"Okay," the young Avatar answered. "If we can't defeat this spirit then we'll escape and try and find another way to get you-"

"No!" Jessie gripped the pendant tightly in her fist. "I appreciate your help, but really, I'm not so important that you can sacrifice yourself, and the rest of the world."

Aang just smiled. "Don't worry, I'm the Avatar."

Jessie stood frozen, a tight, cold feeling taking over her chest as Aang ushered Katara, Sokka, and Teo out of the room. They were now alone in the large, empty chamber. There were no windows and only one door, which Aang locked. He turned and nodded at her.

Jessie nodded back and pulled out all four talismans. They slid together, locking to become one disk with a small hole in the center just the size of her pendant. Taking one last deep breath, she set the last piece into place.

The room was filled with a blinding light that was suddenly cut by a large, black tear in midair about ten feet in front of Jessie.

_Excellent..._

Jessie squinted through the light and saw the spirit, moving like liquid shadows but having no distinct form. "I wanna go home!" she yelled out.

_Hand over the medallion..._

Jessie began to reach out to hand over the medallion when Aang jumped between her and the spirit.

_The Avatar..._

"Spirit! I demand you send this girl home and leave us alone!"

A sound much like laughter filled the room. Without warning, the shadows shot out from the tear towards Jessie. She turned to run but there was nowhere to escape and the dark tendrils snaked around her. "Aang!"

The airbender grabbed her hand, trying to pull her to safety. He held tightly but she still kept slipping.

Jessie watched Aang try and rescue her. She could feel the power of the spirit, he couldn't win. Their plan was going to fail, this thing was going to get the amulet and have incredible power...

No. Jessie curled up her arm and tossed the medallion like a Frisbee towards the nearest wall.

_Nooooooooooooooo..._

The spirit released her, dropping her to the floor, to make a grab for the amulet before it hit the wall and broke the delicate magic allowing the spirit access to this world.

And failed.

The four original pieces fell to the floor with the sharp clatter that only comes from dropping metal onto stone. A shriek assaulted their ears and they both had to dodge the spirit's shadowy grip as it grasped for an anchor to keep it in their world.

Within seconds, the tear sealed itself, leaving the room as peaceful and calm as it had been before.

Aang stood up. "Okay, that didn't turn out so well. Don't worry, Je, we'll- Je?"

He stared down at the golden-haired girl, still on her knees, as the brick pattern of the floor appeared through her.

Jessie looked at her hands, watching them lose color and form, then she looked up at Aang. "_Thank you..._"

Aang smiled sadly as he watched her disappear, unable to do anything about it. He wondered if she was being sent home, or if she was just... The young airbender shook his head. He was sure everything had turned out for the best.

* * *

Jessie opened her eyes, staring up at the ceiling. The white, popcorned ceiling. 

She tried to sit up but her head rebelled. Why was she on the floor?

"Hey, Jess, you okay?"

"Huh?" Jessie looked up at her younger brother, standing over her with a look of concern.

"You passed out again, I heard you fall all the way down the hall. You okay?"

Jessie's brain slowly got back into focus. "Yeah, I'm fine."

Her brother left without another word. Now sitting, Jessie took deep breaths until her focus was clear. Obviously, she'd passed out again and fell. Mystery solved. Okay.

She grabbed and edge of the bookcase and pulled herself to her feet, once again pausing to make sure her head was clear. She put her hand to her chest, she was okay.

Jessie blinked. She felt an object sitting just under her cotton tank top. Curious, she moved her hand to her collar and felt a delicate chain sitting against her neck. When she pulled on it a silver pendant fell out of her shirt and into her hand. Its milky white sphere seemed to glow against her skin.

"What..?" The memory came flooding back, almost causing her to fall again. Had all that really happened? How else could she gotten the necklace, she had never seen it before the spirit gave it to her.

She looked down at her clothes. The same old jeans and shirt she'd been wearing all day. No cloak, no bag. How strange...

She held up the pendant, scrutinizing it. So then, why did she still have this...

* * *

Epilogue: 

Katara, Sokka, and Teo waited outside the room, anxious. Sokka was the one who spoke first. "It's been too long! We should go in."

"And do what?" Katara asked, annoyed with her brother but still worried about Aang like he was. It had been quite awhile. They'd heard voices, a struggle, but now there was nothing. She wanted to trust Aang's abilities, but...

Just before Katara was going to break through the door herself, they heard the locks being pulled and Aang stepped from the room. Katara ran forward and hugged him, thankful that he was all right.

Teo rolled forward. "Where's Je?"

"Gone," Aang said. "Hopefully home."

"And the spirit?" Sokka asked, trying to peer into the room behind them.

"We stopped it," Aang told them. "Je did it, actually. She broke apart the amulet." He showed them the pieces.

"What are we going to do with them?" Katara asked. They were dangerous. If anyone managed to get their hands on them again, even just a human...

Aang stared down at the brightly colored gems. "I'll keep them for now. Maybe hide the pieces as we travel, far apart where no one can get them." He looked up at his friends. "And our first stop is the North Pole."


End file.
